Good morning, it’s Thursday, November 6, 2025. In today’s edition, Ohio moves to limit absentee ballot returns; shutdown effects spill into new programs; more results from Tuesday’s elections:
Top Stories
ELECTIONS: The Ohio Senate has approved legislation requiring absentee ballots to be turned into boards of elections by the close of polls on Election Day. The measure would shift the existing deadline, which requires mailed ballots to arrive up to four days after Election Day. (State Affairs)
WORKFORCE: The Ohio House has given final approval to legislation easing restrictions on hours 14- and 15-year olds can work. The bill allows young teens to work until 9 p.m. year-round, if they have approval from parents. Current law limits kids from working past 7 p.m. on school days. The measure now heads to Gov. Mike DeWine (R). (State Affairs)
SHUTDOWN: We’ve covered the gap in SNAP benefits, but as the shutdown drags on, other programs are starting to run out of money. Maine’s Housing authority will use money carried over from last year’s budget to fund the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP. (Portland Press Herald) Five public housing authorities in Vermont are asking legislators to fund Section 8 housing vouchers, another federal program running short on cash. (VT Digger)
REDISTRICTING: The California Republican Party has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block new U.S. House district maps approved by voters on Tuesday. The lawsuit claims map-makers improperly used race as a factor to favor Hispanic voters. It points to public statements from lawmakers who said the new maps would “empower Latino voters.” (Associated Press)
ABORTION: The Florida Senate Judiciary Committee has narrowly advanced legislation allowing wrongful death lawsuits to be filed when an unborn child dies. The bill would codify civil liability for the death of a fetus “at any stage of development.” Sens. Tom Leek (R) and Kathleen Passidomo (R) voted with Democrats against the bill. (Florida Politics)
EDUCATION: The Massachusetts House will take up Senate-passed legislation requiring school districts to limit or ban student cellphone use during the day. House Speaker Ron Mariano (D) has yet to take a position on the bill, which would require policies to be in place by the beginning of the 2026-2027 school year. (State Affairs)
FBI: Maryland will sue the Trump administration for abandoning plans to build a new FBI headquarters in Greenbelt. The administration has instead chosen to relocate the FBI a few blocks from its present headquarters to the Ronald Reagan Building in downtown D.C. (Baltimore Sun)
In Politics & Business
VIRGINIA: Democrats picked up at least 10 seats in the House of Delegates on Tuesday, marking the first time in 40 years that a new Democratic governor will enter office with trifecta control. House Speaker Don Scott (D) said he expects his party’s majority to grow to as many as 64 seats out of the 100 total in the House. (Pluribus News)
NEW JERSEY: Democrats have won at least 53 seats in the state Assembly, while Republicans have won just 19 seats, with eight races left to call. Democrats claimed victory in at least eight of the 12 races they said were competitive, and the party’s candidates are leading in the remaining seats. (Pluribus News)
MAINE: Voters in Maine rejected Question 1, which would have required voters to present an identification for both in-person and absentee voting and placed new restrictions on absentee balloting. With most votes tallied on Wednesday, 63% of voters had rejected the measure. (Pluribus News)
Texas voters approved a constitutional amendment banning noncitizen voting, making it the 18th state to adopt similar language. Voters in Arkansas, Kansas and South Dakota will weigh in on noncitizen voting bans next year.
MASSACHUSETTS: A new UMass Amherst survey finds former Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy (R) leading the GOP primary field at 37%, ahead of medical technology executive Mike Minogue (R) at 23% and former MBTA chief administrator Brian Shortsleeve (R) at 22%. The poll shows all three Republicans trailing Gov. Maura Healey (R) by margins of 22 to 25 points. (UMass)
By The Numbers
$50 million: The amount the Tennessee Finance Department is asking of Gov. Bill Lee (R) to fund artificial intelligence programs next year, a ten-fold increase over the existing budget. The department wants to spend the money on a state-administered AI platform to automate basic government processes. (State Affairs)
$90 million: The size of Arkansas’ tax surplus at the end of the first four months of the ficscal year. Total tax revenues of $2.65 billion were up 0.5% compared to last year and 3.5% ahead of forecast. (Talk Business & Politics)
Off The Wall
The Trump administration is ending IRS Direct File, the electronic system for filing tax returns for free. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is also the IRS commissioner, told reporters there are “better alternatives” to the Biden-era program. (Associated Press)
Police in Ireland investigated a viral video of a “lion” on the loose in eastern County Clare. Turns out the predatory cat was actually … a dog. Or, to be more specific, a Newfoundland dog with a fresh hair cut. Police said the “very friendly” dog is named Mouse. (UPI)
Quote of the Day
“The shutdown was a big factor, negative for the Republicans.”
— President Trump, diagnosing his party’s losses in Tuesday’s elections. (Pluribus News)